The JREU and JRU established relief operation HQs immediately after the disaster on 11 March. They report that Tohoku and Kanto provinces appear to be the worst affected areas and that the National Police Agency has said that 3,373 people have been confirmed dead and 6,746 are missing – but the death toll is expected to continue to rise. Some 53,000 people have taken shelter at 2,600 sites in seven prefectures.
The union’s relief activities have been hampered by the damage to infrastructure, especially the transport system, railway and main roads, suspension of telephone and mobile phones, and the cutting off of electricity, water and gas. People are suffering from shortages of food, water, gasoline and daily necessities.
On 15 March the JREU sent cars loaded with relief goods from Tokyo and other unaffected areas to the Morioka and Sendai areas.
Massa Takahashi of the JREU told the ITF: “Our members now help each other not only in local communities but also in the east Japan area. Yesterday officers from Tokyo and Chiba went to the local branch and shelter in Mito and delivered water and food. Today, a team from Niigata & Yokohama, stayed a night in Niigata, drove to Sendai and Hachiouji and Omiya went to Morioka. A car from JREU Head Office is heading to Sendai with supplies.
“Smoke, fires, the danger from the reactors at the nuclear power plant and the evacuation order all mean that people in the devastated area face more difficulties. We will do all we can to help.”
He concluded: “People living in Minami-soma City close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant started to move to other areas yesterday using 47 buses.”
Wednesday 16 March at 13:15
The JRU railway workers’ union reports that:
As with the majority of the affiliates, its headquarters in Tokyo is now staffed 24/7, gathering information from members - but over 100 of them are still unaccounted for. The union's communication department says that even initial investigation of the state of the rail network in the Tohoku region, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunamis, has proved impossible.
The union is sending solidarity vans to the affected areas. The setting up of networks and communications is crucial. Shortage of petrol is becoming a serious issue.
The JR Rengo rail workers’ union reports that:
The union is gathering information from the affected areas but has not been able to contact their members on Sendai, Ofunato and Kesennuma Lines since 12 March.
The Shitetsu Soren public transport workers’ union
reports that:
The provision of electricity has begun to the affected areas and some telephone communication is now possible. This has made it possible to contact missing personnel, and 10 are now unaccounted for. The union has sent two truckloads of aid to affected areas. There are unconfirmed reports that convoys of buses attempted to evacuate people to higher ground before the tsunamis hit, and that some were swept away in places such as Ofunato. The Zenkowan dockers’ union reports that:
Twenty four people at Sendai Shiogama port have been confirmed as being safe. Twenty union members at the All Japan Checkers’ Cooperation and Japan Cargo Tally Cooperation were missing but now this has been reduced to three missing personnel at each location. Altogether only 12 of the union’s members have not been accounted for.
Tuesday 15 March at 16:25
News from the Unyu Roren truck drivers’ union: Tokyo headquarters has managed to contact and confirm safety of their staff in the prefectural offices. Efforts to confirm the safety of all members are still underway. Petrol shortage expected soon.
News from the Shitetsu Soren public transport workers’ union: The regional office in Sendai has managed to contact all affiliates on the Pacific side of the Tohoku region.
Iwate Kaihatsu – union at this coastal rail operator confirms safety of all members. One has lost a family member.
Iwate Ken Kotsu – all but 10 members are still uncontactable.
Miyagi Kotsu – 132 members are still missing. This is 10% of the membership. Most of the missing personnel come from the Kesennuma area.
Fukushima Kotsu – all members accounted for.
The solidarity van which visited the regional office and the affiliates in Miyagi and Fukushima has returned to Tokyo. Headquarters has approached the government with their concern that petrol will run out within the next few days; in some affected parts of the Tohoku region workers have been able to run the buses to assist the aid effort but if the petrol runs out this will severely affect rescue plans. Electricity shortage in the Tokyo Metropolitan area is causing huge disruption to the running of trains.
News from the Zenkowan dockers’ union: More than 30 members are still missing, the majority of them from the Sendai Shiogama port. An SMS from the branch secretary, Brother Yamaji on 14 March said: "More than a dozen members are missing. The port is annihilated. The petrochemical complex has exploded and not a single container is left in the yard. Many members have lost their homes. Public transport is paralysed."
As of 13:00 on 13 March, altogether 11 union members of the All Japan Checkers’ Cooperation are still missing. Likewise, nine union members are missing at Japan Cargo Tally Cooperation.
The union is discussing the possibility of transporting relief supplies by sea with the Transport Ministry.
News from the JSU seafarers’ and fisheries union: There were no casualties at the headquarters and staff in the regional branches and offices are safe. However the disruptions to communications have hampered efforts to establish the safety or otherwise of all members. The HQ is being staffed and run 24/7.
Monday 14 March at 20:00
Latest information from Zenkowan (the National Federation of Dockworkers' Unions of Japan):
Hachinohe Port (Reports from Hachinohe Branches at 07h43 and 11h30 on 13 March): All branch members are in safety. About half of the containers from the yard were swept away. Half of the seawall/breakwater was destroyed. Fire damage to building.
Miyako Port (Report from the Miyako Branch at 08h05 on 13 March): Most of the branch members are in safety but some are still uncontactable. Both the company and union offices have been swept away by tsunami. Most of the seawall/breakwater is sunk under water.
Shiogama Sendai Port (Report from the Shiogama Sendai Branch at 13h00 on 12 March): Still chasing members to confirm their safety. Severe communications difficulties. The wharf is annihilated and containers are scattered in the container yard. Onahama Port (Report from the Onahama Branch at 21h00 on 12 March): Still chasing members to confirm their safety. A report from the government indicates that believed to be no human casualties at the port. Cannot confirm damages to the port as nobody can access the port. Cannot use mobile phones or internet to communicate. The union office was flooded but was not destroyed. Hitachi Hitachinaka Port (Report from the Branch on 12 March): All branch members are in safety. The wharf is annihilated. Export cars have caught fire. Kashima Port (Report from the Branch at 10h00 on 13 March): All branch members are in safety. The company headquarters was swept away. Many containers were swept out to sea. Kushiro Port (Report from the Branch at 08h45 on 13 March): All branch members are in safety. Some warehouses were flooded by the tsunami. Short-circuits are reported on machines. Timber swept into the bay.
Tomakomai Port (Report from the Branch at 14h00 on 13 March): All branch members are in safety. Still investigating damage to the port. Timbers, drums, buoys have been swept into the bay.
Akita Port (Report from the Branch at 13h00 on 13 March): All branch members are in safety. No damages to the wharf, warehouses and other port facilities.
Sakata Port (Report from the Branch at 13h00 on 13 March): All branch members are in safety. No damages to the wharf, warehouses and other port facilities.
Monday 14 March at 02:40
The vast majority of the 1200 people stranded at Sendai airport are now rescued.
JRU (confirm that ALL train crew and passengers on board those four missing trains are safe! They got the radio messages from the controller in time to evacuate. It includes one cargo train.
JRU also says that they have managed to contact a large number of their members in the region, nobody knows what has happened to the families and relatives of the members yet.
Shitetsu Soren's solidarity van from Tokyo has reached Sendai city to provide emergency food and other materials to their local members. They obtained a special road permit from police to use the motorway.
Please, however, do not be too optimistic. There will at least be 10,000 deaths and many towns are completely wiped out. People still stranded in hundreds of locations with no guarantee of rescue confirmed and are lacking food and water.
Aftershocks are still regular and electricity shortage is creating limited train services in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
And the part-meltdown in Fukushima is not over yet.
Sunday 13 March at 21:30
Zenkowan's homepage reports that the ports in the Honshu island along the Pacific coast in Hachinohe, Miyako, Sendai-Shiogama, Onahama and Hitachi have all been annihilated (complete destruction) by the tsunami. The port of Kashima is "submerged". In the Miyako Port, both the union office and the management office buildings have been swept away by the tsunami.
An email from Shitetsu Soren confirms that their regional office staff are all OK but their office is destroyed. Their HQ in Tokyo is now staffed on a 24/7 shift to gather information. Communication has been generally difficult due to severe damage in the infrastructure.
JR Rengo and JRU also expressed their appreciation to all messages from overseas.
A friend posted the following message on Facebook 14 hours ago: Sendai Airport, which got hit by tsunami waves, have 1200 people stranded there, waiting to be rescued. The first floor is completely underwater, and the poor people are awaiting help on the third floor.